According to a press release published by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) on August 26, 2021, hosted a ceremonial event today at its Newport News Shipbuilding division that marked the first construction milestone in the life of the aircraft carrier Doris Miller (CVN 81).
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Artist rendering of the future Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier Doris Miller (Picture source: U.S. Department of Defense)
During a small ceremony held inside of a manufacturing facility, Thomas Bledsoe, the great-nephew of the ship’s namesake, gave the order to “cut that steel” to shipbuilder Gerald Bish, who operated a large plasma-cutting machine that sliced into a steel plate. Shipbuilders, U.S. Navy leadership, elected officials and Doris Miller’s relatives signed their names on the plate.
Ceremony participants included U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., who offered remarks; Rear Adm. James Downey, program executive officer for aircraft carriers; Master Chief Petty Officer of the U.S. Navy Russell Smith; shipbuilders and six members of Doris Miller’s family.
Members of Virginia’s Congressional delegation, including Reps. Rob Wittman, R-Va. and Elaine Luria, D-Va. also attended the event. Other guests included, and Capt. Andrew P. Johnson, commanding officer of Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, Newport News.
Doris Miller is the second ship named in honor of Miller, and the first aircraft carrier ever named for an African American. This also is the first aircraft carrier named in honor of a sailor for actions while serving in the enlisted ranks.
Miller is credited with heroic actions while serving aboard the Newport News-built West Virginia (BB 48) during the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Miller’s bravery earned him the Navy Cross.
Doris Miller also is the second ship of the two-carrier contract award HII received in January 2019 for the detail design and construction of the Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers; Enterprise (CVN 80) being the first ship of the contract.
Newport News currently is performing early manufacturing of Doris Miller, which includes structural fabrication and shop work. The ship also will be the second aircraft carrier built completely using digital drawings and procedures rather than traditional paperwork packages and products.
Doris Miller’s keel is scheduled to be laid in 2026 and delivered to the Navy in 2032.
The Gerald R. Ford class is a class of nuclear-powered aircraft carriers currently being constructed for the United States Navy. The class, with a planned total of ten ships, will replace the Navy's current carriers on a one-for-one basis, starting with the lead ship, Gerald R. Ford replacing Enterprise (CVN-65), and then eventually taking the place of the existing Nimitz-class carriers. This class of aircraft carriers is named after former US President Gerald R. Ford.
The class has a length of 333 m, a width of 77 m, and a displacement of 100,000 tons and is equipped with AN/SPY-3 and AN/SPY-4 active electronically scanned array multi-function radar.
The armament of the USS Gerald R. Ford class consists of two RIM-162 ESSM launchers, two RIM-116 RAM, three Phalanx CIWS, and four M2 .50 Cal. (12.7 mm) machine guns. The RIM-162 Evolved SeaSparrow Missile (ESSM) is a medium-range, surface-to-air missile designed and manufactured by the American company Raytheon Missile Systems. The missile can be launched from a quad-pack canister for the MK 41 VLS (Vertical Launching System) shipborne launching system or in a single pack for the MK 29 trainable launcher and MK 48 guided missile VLS. The missile has an operational range of 50 km and can fly at a speed of Mach 4.
